Saturday Night – Combique with so many different wines – Part 1

This past Saturday night we got together with 3 other couples and had a Combique.  Combique is our name for a dinner get together where each couple brings a course and a wine to pair with it.  These are always great for a number of reasons – no one is doing a multi-course meal for eight people on their own, as everyone is only doing one course and can focus on that, they tend to be amazing dishes and lastly as everyone is bring their own choice for wine, there is a diverse selection of wines to try throughout the night.  This dinner had white, red, sparkling and dessert wines that made an appearance.

 

The first course was my and I did an almond encrusted goat cheese on a bed of mixed green with a raspberry and poppy seed dressing. I paired this with a Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Kabinett Riesling.

 

The nose on the Riesling was mild with aromas of musty apple, rose and caramel. Tasting the wine you will find a nice mix of smoky apple and pear with some peach notes in the background. The structure on the wine was good as there was easily enough acidity to offset the sweetness of this off-dry wine. The finish on the wine was good as it did linger around for a bit. It made a good pairing for the salad but I think it needed to be a touch sweeter to compliment the sweetness in the raspberry dressing.

 

 

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy – 89, Overall – 87.5.

 

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

 

REICHSGRAF VON KESSELSTATT SCHARZHOFBERGER RIESLING KABINETT 2006
VINTAGES 282343
750 mL bottle
Price $ 17.95
Made in: Mosel, Germany
By: Reichsgraf Von Kesslerstatt
Release Date: Aug 4, 2012
Wine, White Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 67 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: M - Medium

 

Description -  With a history that dates back over 1300 years, the Scharzhofberg vineyard is so respected that it is one of the few in Germany that does not have to mention its village designation on the labels.

 

Tasting Note -  Round and lush on the palate, tropical-fruited and sugary in flavor, this is an unusually soft and sweet kabinett from a top vineyard. The aromas of pear, melon and guava are intriguing and exotic, and the wine is wonderfully easy to drink now in its youth. Score - 89. (Joe Czerwinski, Wine Enthusiast, June 1, 2008)

 

The next course was Mick’s and I will cover that in Part 2

 

Click here for Part 2